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@ Inquisitor Earl : Thanks for the support, its always good to hear someone appreciates my work

Anyway, one concern I have had for a while is how the rebreather and pouches on my male torso would affect various arm combinations. In an effort to prepare for future sculpting of gloves and emblems, I gathered as many different Cadian arms as I could and test fit them to see if there were any problems. I was pleased that in most cases there wasn't a problem, the two key exceptions were the Flame Thrower arms, and for want of a better description the "Carefully aiming" arms. I found that with careful shaving on the inside of the arm, which is out of sight, it is possible to get them to work well with the Steel Legion torso.

The flame thrower was particularly pleasing to get working, as it is one of the "missing" components from the steel legion range and part of the initial reason I undertook this project in some ways. Please bear in mind, no mold lines or barrel holes have been drilled, this was merely put together to see if the arms would fit with the torso using blutac, however the result was pleasing so less chatting and here are the pictures showing the flamethrower: -



I trimmed off the shoulderpads using a scalpel, and then used a combination of medium, fine, and extra fine sanding sticks to smooth the top of the arm.



Looking at the pipe running back to the tanks on the back, I want to replace it with some of the cabling from The Dragonforge which I normally use for the gas mask pipes. The reason for this will be the increased detail for painting purposes, I always find painting smooth pipes with no detail difficult!



I am not sure what to do about the lack of bedroll for the figure, when it is such an obvious accessory for all the other troopers, I might mount it vertically between the two gas bottles perhaps with straps going round, which would add some detail to the quite cartoony looking tanks. That makes me think of adding a small stop cock on the top of the valves too ... for added detail.



I love the final shot, he looks so determined thrusting his flamer forward to purge all before him!

You could perhaps model two bedrolls onto another figure? Anyway, looking good regardless!

Or maybe just have one guysin each squad who has to lug everyone else's ammo around. Like a gretching, but actually has a purpose.

looking good guy, i love your work and please let us see a whole squad.


lovin your work emp.

I am sorry there will be no update today, one of my larger Japanese clients had a security issue yesterday and I got home around 10pm and am going back in for 6am. I should be finished there by Friday and normal service will be resumed then.

Good luck!

Amazing...
I'd love to do some of the casting similar to yours... Do you have a tutorial?
How essential is the pressure machine, and how much does that cost?

Well its Friday and I am back, my work for the Japanese client was successful and I got home early enough last night to get some Modelling done. I am just editing the pictures now, and uploading them, so I should be posting within the hour

@ Jon : I do not have a tutorial, however I am in the process of setting up my website, where I will be hosting my own Tutorials. The pressure casting is the reason the casts are so clean and crisp without bubbles / air holes. It costs around £500 or so, but its possible to do it a bit cheaper I am sure.

Dude are you the same guy who did those cool DKOK guys on the "eternity gate" site?


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http://bootae.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=9153

Those guys I mean.

Those are indeed my work, I haven't looked at them for a long while. Why do you ask ?

Anyway moving forward, this is a small sub-project I have been waiting to do, I didn't have the neccessary components in my Bitz Box for once, so I had to purchase the components. I had ordered the Forge World extra armour panels for the "Chimera" type vehicles. I thought the look quite appropriate for my Steel Legion Chimera variant vehicles, specifically as the Germans in world war two had specifically used such "Skirts" on a number of their vehicles. Here as a reminder is a picture of the Forge World extra Armour: -



As you can see one of the Forge world panels is broken in the middle, and they are both warped / curved. However both of those issues are easy to solve in the big scheme of things. What concerns me more is the fact that if I use them every single one of my Chimera Variant vehicles will have identical weathering / damage patterns. Now if there might be one or two, that would be ok, however with a Steel Legion force I plan to field a number of Chimera and having them all the same damage patterns would annoy me. So I think its time to make my own version, which I can them reproduce, and add unique weathering / damage too as required.

First thing I need is some patterned plasticard with the appropriate sized squares on, a quick measurement later with my Digital calipers and I discover the size of each small square on the panelling is 3mm approximately. This was a little confusing, as I knew that Evergreen who make the squared plasticard that the original would almost certainly be done with, only make squares in 2.1mm or 3.2mm. So a few other measurements later and I found the winged skull, which was obviously from the vehicle add on sprue, had also shrunk about 1.5-2mm in width compared to a fresh original. This change in scale implied that the original piece when made had been larger, and had been reproduced in resin numerous times (2-4 times) before being finalised. Moulds often slightly reduce the original in size, this is normally not even noticeable or anything worth worrying about, unless producing machine parts with a tight tolerance. The shrinkage will become more important later on!

Anyway I ordered the 3.2mm Sq plasticard and the smaller size in case, from http://www.netmerchants.co.uk in their modelling materials section. I used Netmerchants as they have next day delivery and so far have not let me down on any of numerous orders. They delivered as expected, and I had to leave it all on my desk waiting for a chance to get on with it. Well suffice to say I had that chance last night, and I jumped into it with both feet first. As I had a "template" to work from, it was simply a matter of counting squares to work out the sizes for each panel. As you can see from the picture below, the squared panels and the back panel were easy to make. I think I will be able to get around 5 sets of extra armour out of a single sheet, which at £5 is reasonable, however there is also the cost of the backing plate sheet, at another £5. You can see the panels cut in the picture below: -



The image above also shows the holes being cut into the corners, used to fix the front and back plates together supposedly in real life. The holes will have hex bolts placed at the bottom and in slight variant from the Forgeworld original I will be trimming the 45 degree corners slightly more than they did. For the hole drilling I stuck to my normal pattern of increasing the hole size gradually, in case the plasticard tears or deforms. I started with a 0.5mm, then 1mm, 1.3mm, and finally a 1.5mm drill. You can see some of my Pin Vice drills in the picture, I must admit I generally purchase new ones whenever I see one in a shop.

Once the plates were stuck together, I placed some of the Brass etch hex head bolts into the holes, using the normal dab of superglue technique used I had mentioned earlier in the log. I continued building plates and did the one with the winged skull on, and finally the end plate: -



This image shows the finished work, it has not been weather or damage detailed in any way, as that process will occur after I have reproduced it in resin, therefore ensuring each vehicle will have uniquely damaged / weathered extra armour. The frame on the back lines up with the top and bottom of the Side panels (the ones I was working on last week), and it is the side panels which will be magnetised for removal, therefore letting me add or remove the armour at will. The reason for that choice is because I will already have resin reproductions of my own side panels and the extra armour will be permanently attached to these and magnets placed to hold it all securely and tightly. You can also see at the bottom of the image is the top view, where I have more brass etch rivets to add detail, otherwise known as something to paint that isn't flat.



Finally we can compare the two, they should look alike, but you can see on at the back how much the Forgeworld one has shrunk from the original size. I am pleased with the reproduction and now I can get on with the other side. The weathering / battle damage on the original helps to give it a lot of detail and interest, however with our prisitine version we can add that level of interest uniquely to each vehicle now.

On a small note, I am almost finished preparing a website for this log, and Tutorials about some of my work for the site, hopefully next week early sometime it will be ready.

Oh and a small addendum for Deff Dred Red Edition ... here is a picture of one of them finished.

Oh I just wanted to know how they turned out.They look very nice.As for the steel legion,excellent work on those to.I must say you are an excellent modeller.

I love this blog. So much attention to detail.

kepp up the good work cant wait to see the chimera finished

The side armor looks fantastic, and is something that, honestly, anyone can do if they take the time to. I will have to keep this in mind as I move forward with concepts for my own IG.

You also have me looking very seriously at doing brass etched detailing as well.

This army will be such a treat to watch unfold the more you get into it all. And if your site will be blog based, it'll definitely be linked from The Painting Corps.

Waiting impatiently for more ^_-.

Thanks Guys, and yes it will be a blog format website grey-death

Anyway, it was a curious weekend, I had a quite a lot of pleasant surprises!

First suprise was the arrival of the Pro-Etching kit, followed closely by a new Digital calliper and lastly a micro-hole punch.

I was surprised at the quantity of items in the Pro-Etching kit, but I still need to get some Ferric Chloride and some Sodium Hydroxide before I can commence work with it. The supplier cannot send those hazardous chemicals internationally therefore I have to source them locally. I have noticed that Maplin in the UK supply the Ferric Chloride, but I am looking for a cheaper supplier (if you know of one please msg me or post here). I haven't got round to looking for the Sodium Hydroxide yet. Here you can see the etching kit in all its glory on the side in my kitchen, I will be going into detail about each component they supply later, and a full review and test of the pro-etch system when I have had a chance to try it out.



About 3 days ago I noticed that the battery in my current digital calliper was dying. Now normally this is simply a matter of replacing the battery with a new one and away we go, but I had been after a better quality digital calliper for some time. I had noticed on ebay that someone was selling a Mitutoyo digital calliper for a bargain price of £9 with only one day to go and no other bids. Now Mitutoyo callipers are good quality and normally retail around £125, so this had the potential to be a good purchase. In the end I got them for £13 + postage, and when it arrived it was in perfect working order, it has a finer resolution as far as measurement goes, and just generally the feel of it is far superior to my current digital calliper, which feels quite plastic / cheap.



Lastly among the arrivals was a Micro Hole Punch, with holes from 0.5mm -> 5mm in 0.5mm increments. Obviously the 1mm hole is great for making rivets out of plasticard if needed, while the larger sizes are good for making hole covers or instrument dials in cockpits. The one I really wanted however was 2.5mm, as it was the exact size of the shoulder emblem on the Steel Legion troopers, and would mean I did not have to try and make perfect circles out of Green stuff again! Oddly enough the ones I found in the UK were all sized in Inches, and I had to get one from an American supplier to get one in millimeters, weird huh? Anyway here is the Micro Hole Punch, with one of the punches in place and the rest arrayed before it. One normally slides thin sheet plastic between the clear plastic and the metal base and then insets the correct sized punch, and taps lightly with a soft hammer. Perfect sized plastic circles fall out of the bottom which can be used as you will see later: -



Moving on to finished work, I completed the alternate extra side armour to mirror / match last weeks one. The same process was used and once again it matches the Forgeworld version precisely. I think making these would be a good initial step for anyone wanting to learn hot to work with plasticard. As such I will be preparing an in depth tutorial on how to make them and posting it on the as yet unreleased website. Here is a picture of the finished side armour.



Finally, using the new Micro hole punch I made some circular emblems for the Steel Legion arms. I used 0.13mm thick plasticard sheet and cut out the holes using the 2.5mm punch, the reason for this thin plasticard was to stay in scale, and to have something that could deform to the rounded nature of an arm easily. I simply applied a small amount of plastic glue to the circles, let it work on the plastic for 5-10 seconds and then pressed firmly in the place I wished it to go on the arm. You can see the results here, all I need to do now is add the lightning strike using green stuff, and I am trying to think of a way to do that without green stuff if possible (anyone else thinking Photo-etch right now ?), Here are some arms with the plasticard in place: -



Ok, I am off to find some Sodium Hydroxide ... and a way to adequately ventilate my working area!

Get that website up soon

You're opening a lot of eyes up to a lot of different techniques and tools ^_-. And it's dangerous. For my wallet.

Hey, A thought, you know there are a variety of actual steel barrels out there with rifeling for model tanks, including a 17 cm bore for a Tiger II chassis. I wonder how that would look on a bassie?

With the work going into the website, getting other modellers interested in Armageddon and working with me on the website and finally the Photo etch kit arriving and trying to learn all about it, I can honestly say I have been busy, but with little I can show you yet.

However I can give a run-down on how the Photo etch system should work, and a review of the various kit and what it does.

For those that don't know Photo Etching is the process of using strong chemicals to eat away metals placed within them. This process is used by people to make circuit boards for electronics as well as modellers. You can control the eating away of the metal by covering it a thin layer of resistant chemicals which protect the bits of metal you wish to keep.

So it is therefore possible to print this resistant material and laminate it to the metal and use it as a means to make thin sheets of brass containing shapes you wish to keep. Here is an example from Forgeworld showing what is possible: -



Notice how small the possible results can be ... If I manage to master the process I will be able to produce Steel Legion emblems for tanks, troopers, flags, etc. It also opens up possible avenues of modelling I haven't been down before and will give me some scope to add complex items to models without casting.

However its a bit of a black art, certainly in the wargaming field, although less so in the master modelling field. The pro-etch kit I bought for instance, has almost no reviews I can find on the web, which means I am working on faith. Lets hope it all turns out ok!

My first step was to try and identify and understand every piece of the kit supplied. So without further ado, I present an overview of the supplied kit: -



A - Photo Resistant film, used as the protecting film on the metal, its light sensitive and kept in black tubes to stop it reacting and becoming useless. It needs to be opened and used in a darkroom until you have it in place on the metal and wish to "develop" it.

B - Laminate Carrier film, to hold and take the metal sheet & photo-resistant film, through the Laminator without seperating.

C - Chemical Resistant Plastic tubs to hold the Sodium Hydroxide solutions, first one is used to remove the undeveloped Resistant film so the bits underneath can be eaten by the etchant chemical. Second one is for removing the remainder of the resistant film from the finished product at the end.

D - Pro-Etch Manual, describing the process, I am hoping to make my own guide when I have got on top of the whole process, so that its easier for other people in the future.

E - Etching Tank, the place where the etching takes place, usually 2/3rds full of etchant (Ferric Chloride) and with the metal sheet being etched held inside.

F - Etchant Resistant Tweezers

G - Holding Rod, this sits inside the Etching Tank and holds the Brass sheet horizontally (so the brass particles fall down into the tank easily)

H - Brass sheet supplied with the kit, I purchased more and can get more locally if I need.



A - Disposable brushes, for removing chemicals & brass particles from the sheet.

B - Micro Cleaning pads, to clean the Brass to a very clean bright surface, so the resistant film will stick to it properly.

C - Goggles, the chemicals and the fumes they release are VERY dangerous and the wearing of protection is not optional.

D - Plexiglass plates, for holding the film and metal during the exposure process which makes the film stick to the metal.

E - Gloves in a measuring pot, once again the gloves are important to ensure no risks are taken with the dangerous chemicals.

F - Laminator, to fix the resistant film onto the metal using heat and pressure.

G - Clips, to hold the plexiglass together during the exposure process

H - Aerator to ensure the etchant remains fresh while etching the metal

I - Apron, once again for protection.

As you can see there is a substantial amount of items in the kit, and a relatively complex process to follow. Because the kit travelled from America to England, the etchant (Ferric Chloride) and cleaner (Sodium Hydroxide) need to be purchased by myself, however if I was in the States they would have been supplied.

I am waiting for the chemicals to arrive, and might well take a day off of work to test it all out sometime next week.

On a final note, if there are any people producing armies from the Armageddon 3rd war, either Ork or Imperial, who wish to actively contribute to an ongoing blog format website about Armageddon and the forces fighting there please contact me. This is for the following games: - 40k, Apocalypse, Battlefleet Gothic or Epic Armageddon.

look forward to seeing the results of this new venture

Good grief you really are venturing into the perilous fields of the dark arts of modelling alchemy first resin moulding and now this. You truly are a master of many esoteric mystic modelling arts!

This has been an amazing ride so far, Argos, very impressive. I've never been so riveted to a thread involving the Guard. Thanks for sharing all the steps of your process with us.

As I have almost completed a number of arms, legs and torso's for reproduction, my attention has once again turned to moulding. Recently I have changed supplier for my resin, and lowered the price significantly from £40 per litre down to £12 per litre, thanks to Jeff Wilhelm for the advice. Silicon Rubber on the other hand has a fairly constant price and Tiranti's in London still remains my favoured supplier with their T20, & T28 ranges. The cheap resin supplier is TOMPS and while I was ordering from them I thought I would give their rubber a try incase it had better performance characteristics.



It has a lower Shore A hardness than my normal Tiranti T28 rubber and in theory should be more flexible when cast. This has a number of advantages, most particularly when a mould has overhanging sections which would normally tear less flexible rubbers. I hope to give this a try at the weekend, and plan to use it for the crew compartment top section on the Medusa, which I plan to reproduce, and trim back down to make a shield like the Vanaheim, but which in addition would still fit with the great compartment flooring/lower section.

While working up in town recently I got to go into the 4d modelshop, now they are an expensive shop, however they have some things on the shelves that I don't normally get a chance to examine first hand. One of which was a selection of Smooth-On rubber and resin products. I noticed specifically they had ClearCast Resin, which should produce crystal clear transparent castings of parts, now this intrigued me on a number of levels, firstly I could make some transparent view ports for my tanks (maybe even use a dye to make them reddish), secondly I was interested in making some transparent goggles for my steel legion, which would look pretty cool. So I purchased the box as you can see below, and added making seperate goggles to my list.



Finally because I had to make some working space for my Etching kit, I rearranged my work area and tidied up the moulding section, here is a picture showing the moulding work area.



On the top shelf, I have large mixing containers, tissue paper for wiping up spills, and alumalite white resin.
On the shelf below that, I have TOMPs fast cast resin to try out at £12 or so, alongside the can of French Talc, which helps with mould flow.
Below that, I have Tiranti's Rubber, both T20, and T28, with Silicon oil, which you can use to decrease the viscosity of silicon rubber, and also to prolong the life of moulds.
Then we have rubber gloves for handling chemicals, and some European Rubber that I only use for one off castings as it tends to decline quickly.
Finally you can see the smaller mixing containers, the Ambersil mould release spray, my digital scales and some of my Steel Legion moulds waiting to be used.
The draws in the white cabinet contain mixing sticks, tools, knives, clippers, and cleaning products.

Good news tonight, I got 2 arms complete with emblems, and did more on a set of boots. I also finished off the design of the website, backfilled it with 77 blog entries showing all the work I have done on the steel legion to-date and a friend added his first two entries also. I want to get the first tutorial done and then the site will go live

fantastic. not alot more i can say!

A busy night as I did some sculpting and worked on the tutorial for the website, not much to show for it till the website goes live (most probably this weekend).

Here is a picture showing last nights sculpting progress: -



I am pleased with the emblems and worked on a few rough versions to test first. I got the lightning strike down to about 10 mins to sculpt and with practice it will fall even further. Although I also plan to make a brass etch version. The second boot is now sculpted using green stuff it is a little rough and is a base coat and now needs soothing and the skull and zipper at the back placed on it. This is the last item I am awaiting before the next round of reproduction commences.

I also have my sculpting tools and Optivisor at work with me today so hopefully some more sculpting at lunch time.


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Ok lunchtime sculpting went well, I added the zipper to the boots at the back, touched up some rough GS work, added the last strap on the Gas Masked head and finally did the last lightning strike emblem on an arm.

Photo's next time I am near a Camera

Are you going to make resin Steel Legion pieces from all plastic cadian pieces?

grey_death wrote:You're opening a lot of eyes up to a lot of different techniques and tools ^_-. And it's dangerous. For my wallet.

.... and quite possibly my lungs if Argos convinces me I have to start resin casting and brass etching!

BrotherArgos wrote:
I also have my sculpting tools and Optivisor at work with me today so hopefully some more sculpting at lunch time.

You must have an understanding boss. Or just be the boss for that matter

dirkthe1 wrote:

BrotherArgos wrote:
I also have my sculpting tools and Optivisor at work with me today so hopefully some more sculpting at lunch time.

You must have an understanding boss. Or just be the boss for that matter

I wouldn't put it past him

Umm yes, I am the boss, was it that obvious ?

Anyway, there will not be any updates till Saturday morning, I spent today at a clients till very late, and tomorrow I am at the hospital.

Normal service will be resumed shortly